EU banking union another huge neoliberal step

Expressing concerns over the democratic legitimacy and democratic control over today’s Commission proposals for a European banking union (EBU), Portuguese GUE/NGL MEP Marisa Matias today called for clarity on parliament’s role, as the only democratically elected institution, in the proposed new structures.

“Monetary policy and banking supervision are now EU responsibilities but if banks fail it will still be up to taxpayers to foot the bill. We are mistakenly continuing to increasingly link monetary policy to inflation control when it should be linked to employment” she said.

Pointing to a plethora of small, regional banks that have remained stable during the crisis Jürgen Klute called for those institutions to be supported and said a central task was to “remove poisonous products from the financial markets”. “A key problem with this proposal is that there is no legal basis to shine light on and regulate the dark world of shadow banking” (investment banks, hedge funds, securities operators etc).

Nikos Chountis warned that the national sovereignty, workers’ rights, and human rights, all faced threats under these proposals. “This morning, Commission President Barroso talked about a banking union and said rules had to be established that would not lead to repetitions of the past, yet this is exactly what is happening. The proposed banking union is another huge step towards an EU where neoliberalism is the absolute dogma.”